A Real Life Fairy Tale: The Transformation, or How to Become a Rock Star in 9 Short Months

As everyone here who's read my blog entries knows, I've been fascinated by David's transformation since I first began to notice he was changing--sometime around Billie Jean. But lately I've been noticing that he's continued to transform since his win, and is more beautiful today than I ever thought possible. The changes have seemed to come from emotional and spiritual changes within himself, as much (or more) than from external changes such as makeup, clothing, hairstyle, etc. (though those things have certainly helped). As his heart opened wide to his fans and to life, this was translated into great physical beauty.

With that said, let me take you on a photographic tour of David's journey since his audition. It's really difficult to believe he's still the same person he was then, and even more difficult to believe this all took place within a single year.

Let's go for a ride.

Auditioner #36214, Omaha audition. Late July, 2007 (broadcast on FOX-TV, January 31, 2008.

Even as early as this, I could see his potential. He definitely needed some work though. But man, oh man, could this boy sing! In spite of his strange appearance, he was the only contestant who really interested me. Paula looked completely Cookified from the get-go. Simon, what the hell were you talking about with that "little bit worthy" stuff?

I had a strange reaction when I first saw him. He hadn't even opened his mouth yet to sing, and I vividly recall turning to my daughter and saying, "This guy you see? He's the one to watch, he's going to be the next winner." I have NO idea where that came from; it was just a very strong intuition. So in a way watching season 7 was like watching what I already knew unfold before me. Of course, every Tuesday and Wednesday I'd still be a nervous wreck, wringing my hands and feeling like I was going to puke, and I still voted like a madwoman, especially from "Innocent" onwards.

Cook had some daunting obstacles to overcome if he were to ever to win the title of American Idol, and at the time, it seemed those obstacles might be insurmountable. Besides his emogeek appearance, he was facing three very formidable early favorites (Carly Smithson, Michael Johns and David Archuleta) who all seemed to have the goods and the pimpage to blow poor Cook out of the water. All three (and a few others) received more video time than Cook. To make matters worse, Simon didn't seem to like him much at first, and even said "no" to him going through to the next round in Hollywood after he performed "Everything I Do." He would not have made the Top 24 at all had either Paula or Randy also said no, and may well have been back tending bar and playing weekend gigs at Tulsa nightclubs--at least for the time being, since no one will ever convince me that talent like this wouldn't have eventually been discovered some other, more traditional, way.

Awaiting the Verdict (did he make Top 24?), February 2008.

In this picture, even with the unflattering hairstyle and clothing, you can see how exquisite his features are. The raw materials were always there.
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Colton's Elimination, Top 24 week, late February 2008.

No one would have given him a second glance here, and no one did. He looks average at best. This was the first of the many times David cried on the show (and he is here), but I didn't notice until I saw the screencaps months later, because at the time the cameras were too busy focusing on Danny Noriega's more obvious tears.
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Happy Together, Top 24, February 2008.

David could certainly put on a good performance, but his look isn't the best. Still, I thought he was pretty cute. He also showed how original he could be. No one ever covered "Happy Together" before in a way that made it seem like it could be a hit today, but he did. There was also the little wink/half-smirk thing going on. Now what was THAT all about? Tacky clothing and combover be damned, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to see what he'd do next.
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All Right Now,Top 20, late February, 2008

David the Sex God had made his appearance, strutting and gesturing flirtatiously with the audience, and growling "yeah" like an impatient lover. "No charisma?" Simon, you wouldn't know charisma if you tripped over it and it stood up and started to sing "God Save the Queen."

So on this night David proved he could be smoking hawt as well as a very good performer, but the emotional wall that kept him from really connecting with his audience on a deeper level had not yet been penetrated. That would happen the next week, with his showstopping cover of Lionel Richie's '80's ballad "Hello."
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Hello, Top 16, March 4, 2008.

My first reaction on hearing he would be performing this song was "WTF"? I mean, this was one of the sappiest love ballads to come out of the '80's. I couldn't imagine anyone--not even David Cook--making it rock. It was going to be a trainwreck fo sho. But I couldn't have been more wrong. This was the week David's emotional wall began to crumble, and "Hello" was the performance that made millions of women fall head over heels in love (not just in lust, as the the previous week), including yours truly. I remember the exact moment my mild-flirting-with-a-crush-but-not-quite-there-yet condition exploded into all-out hardcore obsessive fangurldom. He was sensual and smoldering and damn, if I didn't feel as if I'd just been made hot monkey love to--but at the same time a softness and vulnerability was beginning to come through, and that was what touched so many hearts that night and began to make people (and TPTB) really begin to take him seriously as a potential star.
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Eleanor Rigby, Top 12, March 11, 2008

Wow! David's as energized and gleeful as a little boy on Christmas morning. I've never seen such an exuberant reaction from any adult man, and it was beautiful. He jumped up and down, punched his fists in the air, hollered "whoohoo!" and his eyes sparkled with pure joy. He was hyperventilating during the rave reviews from the judges. The performance itself was amazing and electric and could have provided all the power for the city of Los Angeles for a year. At one point, with his arms outstretched, he looked like he was flying. For the first time, David was told (by Simon) that he could "actually win this entire show."
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Billie Jean,Top 10, late March, 2008.

The emotional wall is almost completely down now, and David shows just how much heart he can put into a performance. This was the performance that made TPTB really begin to take him seriously as someone who could potentially win, and he began to be pimped, replacing early favorites such as Carly Smithson and Michael Johns. In keeping with that, he received a makeover, and came back the next week with the haircut that would totally change his look and make people realize how good looking this kid really was. It was around this time I first began to notice a change was taking place.
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IGB Solo in Group performance of Shout to the Lord, Top 8 week, April 7 (?), 2008.

This performance chilled me to the bone. It was the first time David was given the spotlight. He was right in the center of the group, had the longest solo, and I can't even describe the effect his voice had on me. It might have been schmaltzy and over the top, and might even have offended some who think a Christian song like this has no place in the American Idol competition. But looking back now, I see this particular performance as a foreshadowing of David's win 6 weeks later, down to the confetti at the end, the semi-formal attire (David looked fantastic in his pristine white suit), the idols surrounding him, and the credits starting to roll on the final chorus and Syesha's final (short) solo.
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Always Be My Baby,Top 7, April 15, 2008.

In midseason, whatever was left of David's emotional wall came tumbling down for good, and this was arguably one of his best performances to date, and some say, his best performance. It was an emotional week for him, as his BFF Michael Johns had been eliminated (and may have been unintentionally sacrificed to save Cook's ass after Cook gave his only less-than-stellar performance ("Innocent") the week before). In addition, David's very sick older brother Adam was in the audience, and David had also suffered a health scare a few days earlier. With the final breaking down of the wall on this night came a flood of tears, which both made his female fans fall even harder, and at the same time all but shattered David's unfortunate early reputation as "smug and arrogant." What floored me was the way he said "yeah" when Ryan made the observation "You have tears." No shame or self-consciousness about crying onstage, he just totally owned it. David's fanbase started growing exponentially, and many of his most rabid and devoted fans could be found among the "cougar" demographic of women between ages 30 and 55, who for some reason were really taken with Cook. Perhaps it was his sensitivity and maturity that did it for them; he somehow seemed far older than just 25.
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Mid-season comparison of Happy Together and ABMB.

Having arrived now at season 7's midpoint, it's interesting to compare how he's changed so far. The outfits are similar, but the transformaton is well under way. David looks softer, older, more professional, more comfortable in his own skin, less smug. Amazing that these changes took place in less than two months.
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Music of the Night, Top 6, late April, 2008.

David proved that he could do far more than just rock, he could put his entire soul into a performance and use his acting background. This performance proved once and for all he was definitely a performer to be reckoned with, and had star written all over him. The heart he put into this performance gave me chills. Not only that, but he looks fantastic and almost regal, very classy and urbane with his understated and tasteful attire.
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I'm Alive, Top 5, Neil Diamond week, May 6, 2008.

Drop-dead gorgeous as he always is now, but he seemed a little sad during this performance. His singing and execution was flawless and lovely, and of course so was he, but he wasn't able to convince me he was feeling very alive that particular night. I think this was the week he found out his brother Adam, ill with brain cancer, had suffered a relapse. His brother's illness is the primary heartbreak in his life, and seems to be the impetus for his compassion toward others and charitable works toward those ill with cancer. Here, David's eyes looked glassy and red rimmed, as if he might have been crying before going onstage.
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Dare You To Move, Top 3, May 13, 2008.

David's look here is reminiscent of his look in Hello, but he looks so much older and more professional now, less like a college student on open mic night. He also is beginning to take on that inner glow we've become so familiar with, as emotional and spiritual changes were taking place. He was back in his element for this cover of the Switchfoot song and his two other performances that night.
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David attends his Homecoming, Blue Springs/Kansas City, MO, May 9, 2008

I actually thought the first picture was a recent one, because here David looks much as he does now. This was the day he stepped out of the Idol bubble and was faced for the first time with the reality of how famous he'd become, and and he's completely overwhelmed.

David got to live every little (and big) boy's dream come true--not only was he getting plenty of attention from the press and an outpouring of love from his many hometown fans, he got to appear on the local weather forecast and give the day' weather report. He also got to visit his old school and reunite with his 5th grade music teacher, who he credits for providing the spark that turned him toward music. Finally, for David, a huge baseball fan, the opportunity to toss the first pitch for the Kansas City Royals baseball team--and get his own Royals uniform must have been pretty heady.

Happily, during those three days David was able to relax at home and reunite with his family, whom he hadn't seen in months. This must have been a great comfort to him, and he came back to Idol re-energized and ready to tackle the final stretch of the competition.

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David makes the Finale, May 14, 2008.

With all the emotional changes taking place, David is tearing up a lot, as he is here. He must have been under enormous stress, but his happiness is so obvious. He looks absolutely stunning and confident (without a shred of arrogance), but not as much as he would later. The really interesting thing is even under all the stress he's under, he still remembers to think of his fellow idols. It was Cook who initiated the handholding with Archie and Syesha in the moment before Ryan made the announcement. He always seemed to me to be the idol who brought everyone else together as friends, and indeed this group of kids seemed especially close. There was none of the backstabbing and b****iness going on you'd normally see among people of this age group, especially those all vying for a title that could only be awarded to one person.
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The World I Know, finale performance, May 20, 2008.

Something life-changing happened during this performance (I'll never be sure exactly what), as David prepared to "step to the edge" of fame, leaving behind everything he knew before, and knowing his life would never be the same again (even if he hadn't won the next night). Whatever was happening to him emotionally caused him to break down like this. His performance and reaction temporarily unglued me.

The tears behind his voice, the way he hit several falsettos, the delicate control of his vocals, overlaying such deep and intense emotion that he couldn't hide--all this made my heart feel like it would 'plode, but when he dissolved into tears before the judges even made any comments, I was slayed. Just slayed. The only other piece of music I can recall that had the same effect on me was listening to Barber's Adagio With Strings at 3 o'clock one morning when I was suffering mild postpartum depression.
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And the winner of American Idol 2008 is David...


A little less than halfway between the first time we saw him and now, David's won the title of American Idol and is ready to become the major star he is already quickly becoming. He described this moment and his emotional reaction as the exhale, the letting-go of all the stress he'd been under for the previous three and a half months, and he's the happiest here I'd ever seen him (but not as happy as he'd be later). Completely understandable.

Already a mess because of his heartbreaking performance of TWIK the night before, and sleep deprived due to staying up all night voting and then obsessively checking DialIdol and Zabasearch (I remember DI's map turning almost completely red and thought that was the second most beautiful thing I ever saw), I could not stop crying when he was announced the winner. I had so much invested in this moment, from the time I first saw his audition way back in January. I'd never wanted anyone I didn't know to win anything more than I wanted David Cook to win this cheesy show, and he did it. A rocker won Idol, baby! Cook overcame all the obstacles, all the naysayers, all the negativity, all the legions of squeeing teenage Archubots, and had actually won this thing. I remember screaming so loud the neighbors were probably ready to call the cops, then leaping around the room like a crazy person, laughing and crying at the same time, punching my fists in the air shouting "YES! YES!" and not giving a whit that both my kids thought I'd gone bonkers. When Cook cried, I bawled. When he sang his coronation song, the tears still shimmered proudly on his face, and the way he drew Archie and the other idols into his winning moment--and the way they seemed to bask in his presence--was heartwrenchingly beautiful. I pinched myself but this was no dream. I trembled and shook for two hours. I walked around in euphoric disbelief for a month. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

I also think Simon was critical of TWIK on the previous night because he was really afraid Archie was going to win, and had come to regard Cook as his favorite (he even admitted he wanted him to win on Larry King Live). While I agree his comments were hurtful to David (especially being as sensitive as he is), I think Simon was scared for him that night because of Archie's flawless performances, and was trying to spur more people to vote for Cook. I don't know if that explains the little wink he gave David at the end of his critique, but it does explain the look of sheer ecstasy on Simon's face the next night after Cook's win--and also his apology for having been "disrespectful." I have never seen Simon look so happy, and in a later interview he even admitted that he "became emotional" after Cook won. SIMON emotional? I thought I'd see pigs fly first. How odd that in the beginning Simon hadn't even wanted him in the Top 24, and now he wanted him to win.

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...now take a moment to breathe...this was only the beginning...
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David on The View, June 2008.

Whew! Post-win, David looks a little tired and worn out. He's been on an endless circuit of talk shows and performances, and is settling into newfound fame. It's a little hard on him, and he looks pale and tired as hell, but is still beautiful, polite, soft-spoken and very professional in front of the cameras.
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Glendale, AZ AI Tour performance, July 1, 2008.

On the first stop of the tour, David is ecstatically happy, and can now perform without having to worry about being judged. He's also happy to be back with his Idol "family." He has taken on his healthy, radiant glow that has become his trademark. Somehow, in a way I can't explain, he seems so much more than he had been while on the show. I think something happened to him during and after TWIK and came to fruition after he won, and whatever this thing was, its effects were beginning to show. In this photo, he looks almost like he's in a trance, and I do think he gets so into his music he really does go into a kind of trance--but never loses that important emotional connection with the audience.
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Another picture from an early Tour performance (don't know if it's Glendale or not), July 2008.

That's the most genuine, natural smile I've ever seen on a person. He actually looks rested (though he couldn't have been), and his eyes sparkle with happiness and gratitude to his millions of fans. In all my life, I have never seen anyone so effusively grateful to his fans.
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David at Blue Springs Mural Unveiling, August 2008.

This is one of the most beautiful photos I've seen of David. He was extremely emotional as he realized just how much love was pouring out to him from his hometown, and is overwhelmed by it, and by the mural created for him from that love. David was in tears during much of that event (what a surprise!) but I'm in awe (and a little envious) of this man who is completely unafraid to show his vulnerable side.
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Fan Photo, Dallas, TX, August 2008.

David looks totally into whatever the person he's conversing with here is saying. He really seems to listen, and care about his fans more than any other celebrity I've ever seen. He's so humble and grateful to the fans who put him in the exalted place where he now dwells. I love this picture because looking at it, I really feel his soul. I feel like he's right here. I can almost feel his breath, and it smells like toothpaste!
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Fan photo, Tulsa, OK, September, 2008.

This isn't the first time David broke down weeping during a tour show, but the picture is especially poignant not only because it was taken of him at the last show of the Idols tour, but also because of the way he's posed. My first thought was he looks like a sculpture or subject of a classic painting. His arms are so beautiful and gracefully arced over his head and face, almost like a dancer's. My second thought was that I believe David, being such an emotional person and having found himself unable to hold back his tears of joy and gratitude onstage, has actually made this part of his performance. He cries openly, doesn't try to hide the wetness on his face.

How rock star is that to be able to be that open and vulnerable, and take something so deep and close to the heart and turn it into theater, into art? At the same time it's not manipulative in the slightest, he's just sharing himself with us--all of himself. He also banters, laughs and jokes with his fans too (without ever being mean spirited or crude about it), and it seems so natural you'd think he was born doing it. He makes you feel like you're his friend, and you temporarily forget that you're just one of tens of millions of friends. For that moment, you are the only one.
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Transformation Complete?

I have no words. He seems to glow from inside. Is this impossibly good looking man REALLY the Tulsa bartender with the goofy faux hawk who showed up in Omaha a year ago? Now go back and look at his "Happy Together" photo again. They were taken only six months apart. Good grief, how is that possible?
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Full Circle.

Audition backdrop (or intro?) for 2009 auditions. Now he's on it instead of in front of it.

I don't think David could have transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan with such lightning speed were it not for the fact that he's totally unguarded and allows himself to be vulnerable in front of total strangers. As he says himself, he "wears his heart on his sleeve." He feels the love of his fans and soaks that in without allowing it to turn him superior or arrogant. Instead he is molded and shaped by it, and radiates that love back to his fans, to his family, his friends, to everyone he meets. Is this weakness? Hell no! Only the most courageous of people can do it. It's the best kind of strength.

What happened to David Cook this year has already become AI legend, but more than that, he's proven that the impossible is really possible. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to be there from there very beginning. I am in awe of this man. He's my idol, my inspiration, my hero.

I wonder if I'll have to update this again in six more months? Thud.

UPDATE (10/15/08):
I just saw the album cover and song titles, and I'm TWIK'd again. I also saw the screencaps from Entertainment Tonight. Total David Cook overload, it's too much. Too much. All I can say is...he is getting more beautiful. He ain't done with us yet.

it's all happening now...

Way back in January--about a million years ago--I spied a cute guy in a faux hawk and Blake Lewis sweater vest singing on my TV.

I said to my daughter, "He's the one to watch, he's the next winner."

That intuition didn't keep me from voting 'til my fingers bled and puking every Tuesday afternoon.

They said he could never win.

I have always doubted my own intuition.

And then this goofy emogeek from Tulsa won American Idol.

And kept growing more beautiful.

And more beautiful.

Inside and out.

And now he's a star

The "bright, shining star" Paula predicted.

He has two singles out (both very popular), an album in a few weeks that's going to go platinum and possibly win a Grammy, and every dream I ever had for him way back, way back early this year, is coming true.

This is what I visualized for him, and now it's all happening. This is only the beginning...

Don't pinch me 'cause I don't wanna wake up from this beautiful dream.